Diabetes Health

Jump to another page... Introduction Diabetes prevalence Leisure time physical activity Obesity High-fat diet Fruits and vegetables—Fruit consumption Vegetable consumption Use of food labels High Blood Pressure and Hypertension Routine annual checkups Direct care physician to population ratio (1) Hospitalization rate for diabetes mellitus with complications (1) Age-adjusted mortality for diabetes mellitus (2) Years of potential life lost (2)

Diabetes is caused by a shortage of insulin or a decreased ability to use insulin, which is a hormone that allows glucose (sugar) to enter cells and be converted to energy.⁷² In uncontrolled diabetes, glucose and fats remain in the blood and, over time, damage vital organs. There are two main types of diabetes. Type 1 or “juvenile diabetes,” which most often appears during childhood or adolescence. Type 2 affects 90 to 95 percent of people with diabetes and most often appears after age 40. However, Type 2 diabetes is no longer considered an adult-only disease. Diabetes is now being diagnosed at younger ages, even among children and teens. Type 2 diabetes is linked to obesity and physical inactivity—both of which can be modified to improve health.⁷³ Increasing numbers of newly diagnosed cases are among children and most of them are overweight or obese. A high number of Mexican children were positive for Acanthosis nigricans, a condition caused by eating too much of food that are high in starches and sugars, which is often a precursor to Type 2 diabetes.⁷⁴

Recent studies show that Type 2 diabetes is preventable. Successful interventions have mainly relied upon control of obesity and increasing physical activity. The main lifestyle changes useful for preventing Type 2 diabetes include correcting and preventing obesity, avoiding a high-fat diet, obtaining a high proportion of the carbohydrate portion of the diet from unrefined sources, and increasing physical activity. Some research is investigating the role of medications in prevention.

Two thirds of people with diabetes report also having been diagnosed with a cardiovascular disease and one in five report having had a stroke.⁷⁵

In 2004 diabetes was the sixth leading cause of death in the Texas. Among Hispanics diabetes it was the fourth leading cause of death.⁷⁶ In Bexar County, diabetes was the fourth leading cause of death in 2004, up from eighth in 1992. Minority and elderly populations are disproportionately affected by diabetes. As minority populations increase and the population becomes older, diabetes rates in the U. S. are likely to continue to increase.

Diabetes prevalence

The Healthy People 2010 goal challenges communities to reduce the overall rate of diabetes (new and existing cases) to 25 cases per 1,000 population (2.5 percent). In 2002, 11 percent of Bexar County residents reported they had been told by a health professional that they had diabetes. More recent survey results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) indicate that 11 percent of Bexar County residents reported that they have been told they have diabetes in the period 2004-2005. This estimate suggested that the proportion of people in Bexar County who report they have diabetes is unchanged since 1998 when 11 percent of residents reported having diabetes. Although the reported diabetes rate in Bexar County remains unchanged, the rate is 40 percent higher than the 6 percent reported by all Texans.

In Bexar County the percentage of people reporting diabetes is highest in the southern part of the county. The East sector, with the highest concentration of African Americans, has a reported rate of 23 percent of the population being diabetics. In the heavily Hispanic West sector 18 percent report having diabetes. However, the South sector is also largely populated by people of Hispanic ethnicity but reports only 9 percent of the population being diabetics. In the north of Bexar County, the reported prevalence was lower. The Northwest sector has the lowest reported rate of 8 percent followed by the Northeast at 9 percent. The highest reported rate in the north is 11 percent in the North Central sector.

Leisure time physical activity

Participation in non-work related physical activity is an important component of a healthy lifestyle. Recent research shows that regular physical activity maintains a healthy heart and healthy circulation; which improves blood flow and blood pressure. It also lowers glucose levels, helps with weight loss, and strengthens muscles.77

Consequently exercise helps to prevent and/or control diabetes. It is not necessary to engage in strenuous activity to get the benefit of exercise. Moderate exercise such as brisk walking most days of a week for 20 minutes is sufficient to benefit the cardiovascular system. Exercise may have other health benefits, such as most people find it relaxing and it helps to reduce stress.

Since 2002 the percentage of people who report they have engaged in leisure time activity in the last 30 days has increased slightly across Texas. Both Bexar and Harris Counties have seen a more significant increase in the number of people who exercise. In Bexar County the proportion who exercised in the past 30 days increased from 68 percent in 2002 to 76 percent in the period 2004–2005. Most of the increase in exercise was in the more affluent northern sectors. In the northern part of Bexar County the percent of respondents who report exercising ranges from 75 percent in the North Central to 83 and 84 percent in the Northeast and the Northwest. In the southern sectors of Bexar County, the percentage of residents who exercise range from 63 percent in the South to 66 percent in the East and 69 percent in the West.